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None of us alone can be as good as all of us together.  For this reason GEE provides several forums for colaboration.

From posts and responses, to webinars and interviews, we offer the chance to learn and pass along the best techniques and technologies in energy wise retrofitting of residential homes.

 

Home Performance And Pretty? Can I Have Both? Quickly?

Have you ever “day dreamed” or fantasized, “What if life circumstances changed & you re-located across the country and got to choose a new place to live?” I know that if you’re reading this blog, you’re at least somewhat of a Home Performance Geek like me. And I know that only a few of us in this industry actually live in our “Home Performance Dream Home”….

So a little day dreaming and “What If?” thinking is in order for most of us. Pretty, You Bet! Home Performance?  Not So Much.

A couple months ago this Home Performance Day Dream began to come true for me. Son in Law got a job inPurcellville Virginia, so Luelle and I are “following the grandbabies” 3000 miles across the country into a whole new Climate Zone.

At first it was easy, I found a realtor who found a lot that borders on Open Space. That, plus all the “Energy Options” was all I wanted in our new home …. I’ll let my wife pick everything else and the production builder promised to be done in 120 days, maybe less. Sound pretty normal for an Energy Geek Guy?

Then I ran into the reality that maybe “Production Building” and “Home Performance” may not go together too well…

The builder has won design awards and offers a lot of pretty house for the money. My wife was sold, and I was going along… until the construction details started being revealed. The standard home was being built to the same standards that I used in 1980. 2×4 walls with no rigid insulation, R-30 ceilings, No sealing of shell or ducts, no treatment of band joists, not even all dual pane windows, Ouch! I could see that I was headed for an identity crisis.

Obviously if I want my perfect Home Performance Dream House, I’ll have to build it myself, And that’s probably what will happen over the next couple of years. But I want to move into something in 120 days. So I’m considering my options and asking for as much Home Performance as I can get from the production builder. They were adamant, no 2×6?s. Rigid Insulation, They are thinking about it. I guess no one’s ever asked for it before.

The way I see it, there are 3 areas of Energy improvement that can be done to a pretty production home:

1. The items the production builder will allow you to upgrade and pay extra for

2. The things that you or someone you hire can do on nights and weekends, additional sealing etc.

3. The things you just have to change after you move in.

So that’s where I am, negotiating for as much of #1 as I can get. And then as much of # 2 as they will allow. And wondering if I have a “breaking point” An amount of last century’s building standards that I just cant live with and still be me.

Have you ever been in this place before? Please Comment. Any tips on negotiating with a production builder who has systems in place that are working for him….?   I’ll let you know how this develops.

PS I found this Top 10 List of ways to improve a new house by Martin Holladay.   Would you agree?  What would you add?

 

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120515 Assembling Your “A-Team”

Assembling Your "A-Team" Residential Flipping and Leasing Tonight we will talk about team building.   Building the team to find, buy, renovate and rent or sell the finished products. As you know, I now live 3,000 miles away from most of the work that GreenEarthEquities has done and is continuing to do. So the only way I could possibly do this is with a great team. Even with my new operation in Virginia, all of the work has been done by the great team I have been blessed to find. We've had a lot of questions like, "How do you find a good contractor that...Continue Reading!

120508 What Would You Do?

What Would You Do? 13 Cedar Round Hill VA The plans have changed on our Virginia Test House. Due to budgeting issues the house has been moved over to be a research project of NREL. The 1700 square foot, two story house is finished with a very tight envelope... but has been waiting for a decision about HVAC to move ahead.  NREL will be doing the monitoring of this home, similarly to the Fresno Test House. Their research will primarily focus on humidity, which will be measured in many locations under all types of simulated loads and times of the year. It...Continue Reading!

120501 ACI National & Sacramento Conferences

Affordable Comfort Institute National & Sacramento Conferences Tonight will be all about ACI... Affordable Comfort Institute. We'll focus on 3 areas: Summary of the National Conference in Baltimore Preview of the California Conference in Sacramento   (Including hints on receiving one of the Scholarships being offered).  The published agenda & list of exhibitors. Preview of next year's National Conference in the Mile High City... Denver. Amy Fazio, Executive Director of ACI will bring a "behind the scenes" perspective on this organization that has grown to be the center of our (Home Performance) industry. Nate Natale,  Program Development Manager for ACI will also join us with his perspective on...Continue Reading!

Get in the Game: Wholesaler Interview on Buy and Hold

Get in the Real Estate Game Wholesaler Interview on Buy and Hold Greetings PlanetSavers, Last week Ron Roberts shared his testimony about putting together enough passive income to enjoy his retirement and doing it all with foreclosure renovation in the last 3 years.  If you missed it, check it out in the archives.  Several people commented that they were inspired to get out there and get going! Tonight we will follow up with more motivation to "Get in the Game" as I interview Sam Okenyi.   Sam is the wholesaler that we purchased our Norris avenue property through.  He has some clear observations about  the...Continue Reading!

120417 Foreclosure Investing Planning & Preparation

Foreclosure Investing Planning and Preparation Greetings PlanetSavers, Tonight we have a Foreclosure Renovating Expert who has "Been There & Done That." Ron Roberts and I have worked together for many years in various capacities and then 3 years ago I got inspired about the opportunity presented by the Foreclosure Mess. Ron was one of the first people I shared my excitement with and he took off running full speed with the goal of building a retirement income from his foreclosure renovation investments. In three short years, he's met his objectives.   He's completed about the same number of projects that I have (15) and has...Continue Reading!

120410 Energy Modeling Isn’t Very Accurate

Energy Modeling Isn't Very Accurate By Martin Holladay Tonight we will consider Martin Holladay's recent post in Green Building Advisor,  ENERGY MODELING ISN'T VERY ACCURATE.  Martin's blogging is one of the few "must read" sources of Home Performance information available, so I was glad to see him take on this topic.   His column is called the "Musings of an Energy Nerd" so you know he's proud of his numbers and "Calls 'em as he see's 'em." The inaccuracy of modeling programs along with the steep learning curve for most of them have caused me to question their place in our industry ever since...Continue Reading!

4382 N. Cleo Fresno CA 93722

Download PDF Version View Property PhotosContinue Reading!

120403 Greater ROI with HomePath Financing

Greater ROI HomePath Financing Tonight we'll have two guests sharing about one of the most exciting financing & investment combinations on the market today. Jennifer Martin, our Real Estate Broker and Gene O'Brien, our Loan Broker will be talking about Leveraged Investment in Foreclosures using the Fannie Mae program called HomePath. Check it out at HomePath.com to get a head start on the Webinar. Requiring only 10% down, The HomePath mortgage allows investors to get in the game with less capital than with conventional financing. Tune in to hear why investors are flocking to this program. What are its limitations and where does it shine? And...Continue Reading!

What Would You Say If…..

(If You Had 30 Seconds To Address Our Industry?)  That’s what I had when accepting the Tony Woods Award at the recent Affordable Comfort Conference in Baltimore.   Actually there was no time scheduled but Larry Zarcher’s a nice guy, so he bent the schedule … “OK, but no more than 30 seconds.” The audience was a thousand of the most influential folks in the Home Performance Industry. Having an opinion or two, and since spontaneity is not a problem for me, I was happy to have the opportunity. So I said, “Just imagine that everyone in here were to go out and...Continue Reading!

Dave Robinson Wins Award

Dave Robinson Wins Award 2012 BPI Tony Woods Award Winner Dave Robinson of GreenEarthEquities Receives BPI's 2012 Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry.  The award recognizes the individual who has most advanced the home performance industry over the past year. Baltimore, Maryland, March 29, 2012 -The Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI), the nation's premier standards development and contractor credentialing organization for residential energy efficiency retrofit work, yesterday honored Dave Robinson of GreenEarthEquities by naming him the 2012 recipient of the Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry in the Opening Plenary ceremony of the...Continue Reading!